Politics

Nzimande wants department to probe truck drivers' concerns

Durban - Transport Minister Blade Nzimande on Friday directed his department to lead a task team to investigate and address the concerns of South African truck drivers.

This is after Nzimande met with the leadership of the All Truck Drivers Foundation and the National Truck Drivers Association in Durban to hear the challenges facing South African trucking industry.

South African truck drivers have been embarking on protests at randomly last year, closing off traffic major highways in protest against the hiring of foreign nationals at lower wages.

In a statement, the department of transport said that both associations raised issues such as conditions of employment, which includes among others the employment of foreign truck drivers and corruption in the issuing of South African driver's license to foreign nationals.

Nzimande thus directed the department to lead a task team constituted by all affected departments, including the departments of home affairs, labour, the Bargaining Council and the representatives of all the truck drivers.

The task team will compile a report on the work already done and present it to the joint meeting of all the ministers responsible for the identified departments and the trucking associations. The department said that meeting is scheduled to take place before the end of February 2019.